Poverty stricken woman in Thiruvananthapuram hands over four children to CWC

Thiruvananthapuram: In a saddening incident, a woman handed over four of her six children to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) as she was unable to take care of them due to poverty.

The family is in such dire states that one of the children consumed soil from near their house as there was no food to eat. The woman herself mentioned the incident in a letter to the CWC.

Moreover, the family had been living in a makeshift house in a puramboke land in Kaithamukku near the railway station at for the last seven years.

The eight-member family including the woman, her husband, who is an alcoholic, and their six children had been staying in the makeshift house made from tarpaulin sheets. The woman’s husband is a daily wage labourer and is the sole bread winner of the family. However, he comes home in an inebriated condition and beats up his wife and children, the woman said in her complaint to the CWC.

The two younger children are only three-months and one-and-a-half years old. They require their mother’s presence and care and hence been left under her custody. However, if the woman is unable to take care of the two, they will also be taken care by the CWC.

At present, the children are admitted to ‘Ammathottil’ in Thaikkad where they will be provided all amenities including education. Parents will be allowed to visit the children at the facility. All four children will be under the care of CWC until they are 18 years old.